The Non-Violent Hypocrite

The Non-Violent Hypocrite

After yesterday’s incidents, Nani did not want to let me out of the house this morning.

As I walk from one bus park to the next I can feel the tension and I see less people and less cars.

“Eh is now dem buses really start coming out,” a bus driver says to his colleague.

Inside the UG bus there is silence. The man next to me stares straight ahead. I get the feeling that he’s more afraid of me than I am of his serious face.

I am waiting for our opportunistic politicians to capitalize on the right moment to speak out against the instances of violence. I am waiting to hear their voices, see their faces and watch how they lead our people. I am waiting to see them cry blood for this nation because they love it and us and because it truly hurts them to see what we have become.

I am waiting for our opinion leaders to speak out against this in an objective manner without allowing their hate for any one political party to cloud their judgment. I am waiting for the people serious about the message of unity, healing and reconciliation to condemn these acts of violence.

As I wait, I tolerate these non-violent hypocrites who try to walk a middle ground where there really isn’t one. They say that they condemn the acts of violence but in the same breath they say they understand what it is like to be disrespected, provoked and forced into a corner where the only option is to react. Is this to some degree a justification of the violent actions?

I condemn these acts of violence and I will not justify them. There are thousands of us in this country who have been disrespected, provoked and forced into a corner but we are yet to become rabid, burning dogs waiting to sink poisonous teeth into our brother’s throat. Perhaps, it’s because we understand that hate and violence are not the solution for unity, healing and reconciliation.

Even as I recognize that the attacker and his target are both victims of our political tradition and system, this does not serve as an adequate excuse. Why? Because in the end, even if some of us will argue that we are on the edge of sanity, we still have choice; we choose to act in the way that we do.

When we excuse an act which should be condemned and then remedied with education and love then we, more than anyone else, are ripping Guyana heart from chest. Condemnation alone is not a solution and condemnation of an act or of an issue is not condemnation of a people or a belief or a political entity. Condemnation is the taking of a position from where we can begin to fix a problem or in this case heal a broken nation.